U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,982 discloses a rifle handguard assembly having identical mating sections which define a cylindrical outer shell and a cylindrical liner surrounding the barrel. In the handguard assembly of this patent, the liner is designed to prevent heat transfer to the rear of the shell so that a user may comfortably grip the handguard assembly after repeated firing. While the handguard assembly of this patent exhibits eminently satisfactory performance with barrels of reasonable length, utilization of this handguard assembly with short barrels, such as found on carbines, may result in the rear of the shell being heated to a high temperature which produces uncomfortable sensations in a user's hand.